Thom Rainer

Thom Rainer is the president and CEO of Church Answers. Rainer received both a master of divinity and Ph.D. from Southern Seminary and was founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism from 1994 to 2005. He is the author of many books and served as a pastor for several years.

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10 reasons your church members are so ornery amid the pandemic

If you sense your church members are getting a bit ornery, you are probably right. Indeed, you as a church leader may be struggling with some of these same issues.

How do you handle a ‘church disrupter’?

Church disrupters are dangerous. Learn how to spot them — and how to deal with them.

Seven ways to identify a healthy church

If a leader has all of the following seven traits, it is likely that leader will lead the congregation to greater health.

Seven habits of long-term pastors

These habits are not unique to long-tenured pastors. But they do seem to be most consistent among those pastors who have been at one church for at least ten years.

5 Reasons Church Revitalization is Risky

Church revitalization leaders should be consummate students of risk-taking.

5 reasons pastors get depressed (and why they don’t talk about it)

5 reasons why depression is a pervasive issue among pastors.

How to prepare your church for an active shooter

Hopefully we will never need these guidelines, but our churches must be prepared for the worst case scenarios.

How to deal with a church disrupter

5 strategies for dealing with members who disrupt church unity.

Six stages of a dying church

It’s not pleasant but if we don’t talk about dying churches, we will act like there are no problems.

Five terrible reasons to become a pastor

I’ve seen too many people in vocational ministry fail to launch.

How to stop demanding members from driving you out of church

You can either leave ministry because of them, or you can deal with them.

Beware of ‘preacher eater’ churches

A preacher eater church has a series of short-term pastors, and those departing pastors have few positive words to say about them.

What if I barely received a favorable vote?

Seven questions to ask before you make a hasty decision

Eight signs of fearful leadership

8 signs of fearful leadership | Thom Rainer

Dangers of denial in 
a declining church

Many dying churches refuse to see the diminishing influence of their churches for the good of the Kingdom and do nothing about it. Denial means more and more churches will be closing their doors.